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DeepSeek V3 vs DeepSeek V4 Flash Base

Head-to-head comparison across 1benchmark categories. Overall scores shown here use BenchLM's provisional ranking lane.

DeepSeek V3

36

VS

DeepSeek V4 Flash Base

31

1 categoriesvs0 categories

Pick DeepSeek V3 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. DeepSeek V4 Flash Base only becomes the better choice if you need the larger 1M context window.

Category Radar

Head-to-Head by Category

Category Breakdown

Knowledge

DeepSeek V3
70vs52.2

+17.8 difference

Operational Comparison

DeepSeek V3

DeepSeek V4 Flash Base

Price (per 1M tokens)

$0.27 / $1.1

$null / $null

Speed

N/A

N/A

Latency (TTFT)

N/A

N/A

Context Window

128K

1M

Quick Verdict

Pick DeepSeek V3 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. DeepSeek V4 Flash Base only becomes the better choice if you need the larger 1M context window.

DeepSeek V3 is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 36 to 31. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

DeepSeek V3's sharpest advantage is in knowledge, where it averages 70 against 52.2. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is MMLU-Pro, 75.9% to 68.3%.

DeepSeek V4 Flash Base gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 128K for DeepSeek V3.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Frequently Asked Questions (2)

Which is better, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?

DeepSeek V3 is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 36 to 31. The biggest single separator in this matchup is MMLU-Pro, where the scores are 75.9% and 68.3%.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V3 or DeepSeek V4 Flash Base?

DeepSeek V3 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 70 versus 52.2. Inside this category, MMLU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Self-host vs API cost

Estimates at 50,000 req/day · 1000 tokens/req average.

DeepSeek V3
API / mo$1,028
Self-host / mo$18,221
Break-even1.2B/day
DeepSeek V4 Flash Base
API / mo$0
Self-host / moN/A
Break-even
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Model the full break-even

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Last updated: April 24, 2026

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